As I’ve said in the past, this city needs to adopt a bylaw that forces all property owners to clear snow and ice on the sidewalks. If, for some reason, you are unable to do so, you deserve to be fined.

Granted, winter is on its way out and spring is — hopefully — on its way in. So, I’ll take up this cause again next November or December.

But since today marks the official start of spring, I’d like to discuss a topic synonymous with spring: flooding.

Insurance brokers throughout the province don’t provide insurance when your home is flooded by water. While I understand the “risk” is extremely high and there is a strong likelihood they will have to fork over thousands of dollars to people affected by flooding, this rule is not one I agree with.

Even before I moved to Moose Jaw I didn’t agree with said rule, and now that I live here my angst toward the situation has increased.

After arriving home shortly before midnight on March 13 — after a lengthy 24-hour stretch covering the Jubilee Block fire — I came home to a partially wet basement.

Considering I’d only slept about six hours combined in the previous two nights, all I wanted was to crash on my bed.

Instead, I was forced to shuffle furniture and others belongings in my living quarters away from the damp areas.

After vacuuming up sloshes of water and setting up a fan and a dehumidifier, everything was dry when I woke up on March 16.

I planted myself on the couch for a couple of hours to watch NCAA basketball action with the intent of re-arranging everything back to normal later that afternoon.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, the water poured in at a much feverish pace. By the middle of the afternoon my bedroom was transformed into a shallow lake.

More furniture had to be moved and my stress levels shot up.

I went outside to inspect the reason behind the influx of water that had covered much of my carpet floor.

What I saw was not what I expected.

A steady stream of melting snow and ice from the alley behind my house was rushing down one side of the house and into the basement.

The next couple of days have seen the same situation reciprocate itself.

Needless to say, I’m frustrated with my current living situation because of unexpected flooding.

First of all, I believe the city should pave back alleys.

I know that will never happen, but it’s worth noting.

Secondly, like sidewalks and streets, back alleys also should cleared of snow by City of Moose Jaw crews. If this was the case, there’s at least a small chance I wouldn’t have had to deal with flooding for the past week.

Then again, that’s probably not going to happen either.

In the mean time, however, I’ll just keep rearranging my furniture, sleeping in my kitchen area and hoping the flooding comes to a halt.

Nathan Liewicki can be reached at 306-691-1256 or follow him on Twitter @liewicks